I '7 92" 0^ antiquities iri Scotland. 95 



In the first place, to advert that few structures of 

 the kind here treated of, are found in the southern 

 parts of Scotland, to which part of Scotland alone the 

 Englifli, in the time of the Anglo Saxons and Nor- 

 mans, ever had any accefs ; the dhunes are chiefly to 

 be found in the northern remote parts of the island, 

 where no Englifhman ever could have had an oppor- 

 tunity of seeing them. Hence it is not at all probable 

 that they could have formed an idea of imitating them. 

 From this circumstance we may naturally infer, 



In the second place, that had these structures beea 

 really intended as fortifications, they would naturally 

 have been more frequent on the borders between 

 England and Scotland, than any where else in the 

 island, as the inhabitants of that district were more 

 exposed to predatory invasion than any others ; but 

 not only none of those are there found, but no building 

 has ever been discovered in England that bears a re- 

 semblance to these in any respect, except merely the 

 circularity of their external form. Indeed this is so 

 obvious, that nothing but a perfect ignorance of the 

 peculiar construction of the dhunes could ever have 

 induced Mr King to have adopted the opinion above 

 cited. Our readers being already in some measure 

 acquainted with the peculiar structure of the 

 dhunes, to satisfy them of the truth of this position, 

 it will be only nccefsary to give them a general idea 

 of the structure of the Engliilr keeps. 



Anglo Saxon keeps and dhunes compared. 

 An Anglo Saxon keep is always a cylindrical (not a 

 conical^ tower, rising from the apex of a conical hill 

 #/ earth, which in most cases appears to have beea 



